Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Orange County

When traditional asset classes such equities and fixed income come under pressure, how do you protect against the downside? Where do you find uncorrelated returns, low volatility and profit opportunities regardless of the market direction? What is happening with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the yen and gold and how do they impact your portfolio? Axel Merk, an authority on currencies, will discuss the current macroeconomic forces driving global currencies and how the currency asset class may help provide diversification.

It’s cheaper to make PVC pipe and other plastics in the U.S. than in China or the Middle East. The American South is the hottest location for companies looking to build major new facilities. The U.S. dollar is rapidly appreciating against every major currency but the euro, and U.S. growth is getting a lift even as other nations falter, even with a dysfunctional government in Washington. In this presentation, Roger Conrad and Elliott Gue draw on 50 years of combined experience to highlight the cause of our sudden and emerging prosperity—the Great American Energy Boom—and how to take advantage of it.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Twin Cities

Americans have accumulated about $17 trillion of tax-deferred retirement plan assets, which are added as taxable income in the year of distribution. Have you considered the post-life income tax implications for your heirs? Retirement plan owners often choose a maximum retirement plan tax-deferral strategy, resulting in larger and larger distributions at death. Traditional estate planning is based on avoiding probate and estate taxes, while not considering the income tax aspect of transferring IRA and other retirement plan assets.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Connecticut

Morningstar’s director of personal finance, Christine Benz, will discuss how the retirement landscape has changed over the last 30 years and the challenges that current and future retirees face as a result, including the disappearing traditional pension and historically low interest rates. She will then share her recommendations for how to deal with these challenges by using the “bucket” approach to retirement portfolio planning.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Central Florida

During what has now become an annual May event, we will once again offer the opportunity to our chapter leaders, members and other attendees to give us their best investment advice. The roundtable forum has worked well to allow us to tap into the wealth of expertise contained within our own group.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Southeast Florida

This presentation will cover recent changes in the law, including recent notable cases, and their impact on estate planning. Shawn Snyder will discuss new and rediscovered opportunities in planning and asset protection, including taking another look at the credit shelter trust, disclaimer planning and dynasty trusts. Snyder will address changes and obstacles still remaining for same-sex couples, especially lack of consistency in treatment and unresolved issues of relocating to “non-recognition” states. The speaker will also briefly discuss the emerging field of estate planning with digital assets and the importance of addressing the fiduciary control over, and disposition of, digital assets.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Sacramento

Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Topic: It’s What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts
Speaker: Paul Townsend, Associate Vice President and Investment Officer, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

After 17 years as a stockbroker, Paul Townsend thought he had it all figured out; he was familiar with many effective methods of fundamental and technical analysis. Three years ago, however, he had an epiphany. Using just a few significant technical analysis metrics increased his total return. In this presentation, Townsend is going to open up his toolbox and playbook and teach us about some very valuable terms such as the pocket pivot, the buyable gap up and the seven-week hold rule. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from this popular speaker.

Over the past years, Muhlenkamp & Company has written extensively about the self-defeating nature of extensive taxation and how interest rates and inflation affect your purchasing power. Tony Muhlenkamp, president at Muhlenkamp & Company, addresses why bonds are no longer a good place to invest your money, the dangers behind “creative sources of yield,” why Muhlenkamp & Company prefers owning companies with low dividend payouts, and where the company is bullish. Further, Muhlenkamp provides insights into how low interest rates are impacting companies’ defined-benefit pension plans and why investors should care. This presentation is the synthesis of 40 years of observations based on facts.

Upcoming Chapter Meeting: AAII Denver

In today’s fast-moving and highly volatile market, we need strong discipline plus tested tools and methods. Our speaker, Ray Rondeau, will describe and illustrate the techniques he uses to successfully reduce risk, emphasizing probability to override emotions. His graphics will show how to use technical analysis to determine prevailing trends in individual issues as well as the overall market. This includes examining various investment vehicles beyond stocks. Rondeau will also show how to apply equity-market-neutral techniques to the whole portfolio, since loss avoidance is a key to sustained profitable investing or trading.

AAII is a nonprofit organization that arms individual investors with the education and tools they need to build wealth. From stock investing to financial planning and retirement funding, AAII covers all your needs.